The Commerce Department plans to add 11 Chinese-based entities to its Entity List for their involvement in human rights abuses in China’s Xinjiang region. Nine of the entities are involved in the forced labor of Muslim minority groups and two of the entities conduct “genetic analyses” to “further the repression” of the minorities, Commerce said. The additions take effect July 22.

U.S. agencies are exploring ways to enforce industry compliance with mitigation agreements with the Committee on Foreign Investment in the U.S., despite travel restrictions imposed by the COVID-19 pandemic, a top Justice Department official said. The pandemic has specifically caused challenges around in-person site visits, which help enforcement agents ensure companies are adhering to CFIUS conditions for an approved investment, John Demers, assistant attorney general for national security, said.

The Chinese ambassador to the World Trade Organization, Zhang Xiangchen, said his country is willing to discuss the effects of industrial subsidies on trade -- a topic he called contentious and complex -- but he rejected the outlines of an approach the European Union, the U.S. and Japan agreed to in trilateral statements (see 1901090063).

Kenya’s new finance bill includes several provisions that may be a disincentive to imports, including a new customs fee, additional duties and the removal of certain exemptions, the Hong Kong Trade Development Council said in a July 15 report. The bill, which took effect June 30, changed the import declaration fee for goods imported under the East African Community Duty Remission Scheme from a flat fee of $93 (U.S. dollar equivalent) to1.5% of the import's customs value. The new rate also “is chargeable regardless of the goods’ final destination,” unlike the flat-rate fee that applied to “imported goods that were subsequently destined for the Kenyan market.” The bill also removed fee exemptions for imports of certain aircrafts and other goods used for “promoting investments” or for “framework arrangements with the government.” Another measure will impose an additional 2.5% duty on certain goods imported for domestic use by companies in an “Export Processing Zone.” Kenya’s Parliamentary Budget Office has warned the bill may affect the competitiveness of the Port of Mombasa, which is used by other countries in the region, the report said. It is the largest port in East Africa.

India announced restrictions on imports of certain machinery used in agricultural production, the country’s Directorate General of Foreign Trade said in a July 15 notice. It restricts certain imports of power tillers, which India defines as “agricultural machinery used for soil preparation.” The notice also restricts imports of certain machinery parts for tillers, including engines, transmissions, chassis and rotavators. The import policy for power tillers and components had been “free.”

China said it still plans to fulfill its commitments under the phase one trade deal with the U.S. despite rising tensions over Hong Kong and a host of new U.S. sanctions and export restrictions (see 2007150019, 2007140068, 2007010040 and 2006290063). The trade agreement will “benefit both countries and the world,” a Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson said July 16, according to an unofficial translation of a press conference transcript. “We will implement the signed agreements.”

The Federal Emergency Management Agency is seeking comments on an information collection related to letters of attestation for exports of controlled medical exports, a notice in the Federal Register said. Exporters must support these letters to certify that they qualify for one of FEMA’s exemptions for exports of personal protective equipment before their shipment can be approved (see 2004200019 and 2004210022). Comments are due Sept. 15.

The Office of Foreign Assets Control updated its Nicaragua Sanctions Regulations and added a general license authorizing certain U.S. government activities with Nicaragua, a notice said. The notice incorporates the Nicaragua Human Rights and Anticorruption Act of 2018 into the regulations, which includes certain technical edits and the addition of the “delegation of certain functions with respect to the NHRAA,” OFAC said. It also expands a provision of the regulations to include more clarity on blocked transactions and incorporates a previously issued general license that authorizes certain Nicaragua-related activities. The rule is effective July 17.

The Office of Foreign Assets Control on July 16 extended the expiration dates for two Ukraine-related general licenses that authorize certain transactions with U.S.-sanctioned GAZ Group. Both licenses were scheduled to expire July 22 and now expire Jan. 22, 2021. General License No. 13O, which replaces No. 13N, authorizes certain transactions necessary to divestments and debt transfers. General License No. 15I, which replaces No. 15H, authorizes certain transactions related to the “manufacture and sale of existing and new models of vehicles” -- including components, engines and commercial vehicles -- produced by GAZ Group.

Some new provisions within the USMCA seem to make claims of U.S. goods returned under Harmonized Tariff Schedule heading 9801 for U.S. origin goods much less important than was the case under NAFTA. Kevin Riddell, director-trade and regulatory compliance at Tremco Group in Canada, highlighted the changes, which allow for USMCA claims on U.S. origin goods, in a recent LinkedIn post. While Riddell said he hadn't tried to enter U.S. goods under the new USMCA provisions, a CBP spokesperson confirmed that “a USMCA claim may be made on goods of U.S. origin, provided it satisfies its applicable rule of origin and all other requirements of the Agreement have been met.”